This is the boat that will carry the Queen during celebrations to mark her 60 years on the throne
This is a first look at the boat that will carry the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh down the Thames during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on June 3 next year.
What will become the Royal Barge during the event is actually Thames passenger boat The Spirit of Chartwell, owned by the Magna Carta Steamship Company.
She will be dressed extravagantly for the pageant, which will see 1,000 boats form a 7.5-mile flotilla on the Thames to celebrate the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.
You can see a special article about the event in February’s MBY, out January 5.
The Spirit of Chartwell was chosen for a number of reasons, including size, comfort, safety and manoeuvrability, organisers said.
She will be decorated by Emmy award-winning production designer Joseph Bennett and well-known gardener Rachel de Thame, with the idea to “echo the richly-decorated royal barges of the 17th and 18th Centuries”.
Pageant master Adrian Evans said: “The Royal Barge must be a jewel – the most magnificent vessel in the flotilla.
“Joseph and Rachel have come up with a truly inspiring design, one that references the Coronation, the Commonwealth, the Gold State Coach and all the traditions of royal barges on the Thames, while creating something that is distinct and modern.”
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